What Doesn't Kill You: The Girl with the Iron Skul
by theotakuat221b
Summary: A faulty Cannon. When Clove's cannon was fired, she was alive, but barely. Back in the Arena, she has new challenges to face, and a new skull. Can she manage to become a victor? Or will she die-again? I suck at summaries, and this is my first Hunger Games Fanfic, so no flames and please review! Rated T-it's the Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Hunger Games story, so don't beat me up about it. **

**Disclaimer-If I owned the Hunger Games, Clove and Cato would win  
**

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What Doesn't Kill You: The Girl with the Iron Skull

Clove's POV.

Cato! Cato!" I screeched, regretting that I had lied to the Girl on Fire- Katniss. Now, my stupid, brash mistake has gotten me captured. The big brute from 11 had me in his grasp, and despite twisting and turning. My knives, every single last one of my knives were either on the ground or in a place impossible to reach. At least I had Cato, he promised he would come for me if I needed help, even after our argument, and he would come…..right? I think back to a few hours before…

_Flashback_

"_I think we should both go, just in case Lover Boy shows up" insisted Cato._

_Rolling my eyes I turned to my district partner and best friend. "You said it yourself, you know where you cut him, and he's probably stashed in some bushes while Katniss goes to the feast and gets some medicine, plus I'm quicker and not so clumsy" I sighed, turning to sharpen my endless selection of knives._

"_Clove your insane, and plus you swore I got to kill her!" he whined, sounding like a 3-year old._

"_That was earlier Cato, I'll give them a good show, go get our food, kill Katniss and meet you back here" I snapped, losing my temper-which was shorter than ever from hunger. _

"_At least have me go the edge to watch for any surprises-"Cato was cut off as I lunged for him._

"_Why? Do you think I can't handle myself? That I'm just a weak little girl who can't do anything by herself?" I snarled knife at his throat._

"_Easy there Princess, just calm down, you and I both know you can handle yourself-"he was cut off again as I stormed away from him. "Just watch Cato, I'll bring the Victors Crowns to our heads while you sit around!" I called over my shoulder._

"_Fine!" Cato yelled, storming away from me- maybe to go look for food? I sighed, heading towards the Cornucopia, a wicked grin on my face. "Let's go give them a good show" I whispered, knives at the ready._

_End of Flashback_

"Clove!" the cry came from the woods. _He came! That imbecile followed me-thank god_ I thought as Cato sprinted out, holding a large sword in his right hand. Thresh turned to the call, then looked back at me, fear and terror briefly flashing in his cold dark eyes-before it turned to anger. Before bending down, holding me in one fist-another bad reason for being small, and picked up a large rock easily like it was a feather. He turned back to me, swinging the rock around and BAM! Hit my temple with the rock. I fell to the ground, my life flashing before my eyes. Me first going into the training center, meeting Cato, watching my only sister die in the Hunger Games, how he comforted me, spending those nights together away from everybody else. No, we were not star-crossed lovers, anything but that. We were like twins, never separated. We knew each other's darkest secrets, our worst nightmares, our pains, the times we laughed and cried, and how we knew each other's thoughts. I thought of the pact we made when we both volunteered. I see recent memories too. I see the bloodbath, spending time with Glimmer and Marvel, tributes we hunted down, the tracker jacker nest and Cato nursing me back to health, the explosion of our precious supplies, and the last words we said to each other.

I could faintly here the Fire-girl and Thresh talking like they were old friends, not ripping each other apart. Cato was-where was Cato? I saw him at the edge of my vision, frozen in shock like a statue as he stared at me, lying on the ground. _ Come 'on Cato, kill them already! Now's your chance to become victor! _I wanted to scream, but my voice wouldn't work-practically nothing worked. The two parted ways and raced off, Cato still staring. Letting out a feeble moan of pain, Cato shook his head and raced to my side.

"Clove it's okay, we can get some medicine and bandages and fix this all, we can win" rambled Cato, holding me in his arms. He placed his hand on my temple, quickly becoming soaked in blood. He kept talking me, pleading me to stay with him, but I was elsewhere.

The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water. I would never become victor. I would never live in the victor's village, right next to Cato. I would never get married and have a family. I was just like my older sister, a big failure. All because of one little cocky, hasty lie I made to Katniss about Rue. If I had been smart, I would have killed her straight away, I would be with Cato now, food a plenty. I would die young, and all that it took to kill me was a stupid rock.

"Cato w-win f-for us" my voice- barely more than a whisper, came from somewhere. Spots clouded my vision and I could barely hear Cato speaking.

"No Clove-you swore we would win together. The victors of District 2. Live side by side until a ripe old age, in the Victors Village, legends to be passed down by our children." Sobbed Cato, tears streaming down his face. No it was impossible, brutal, bloody Cato crying? He cared that much for me? I was crazy, a sadistic killer who played with knives ?

"Cato-" my thought was never finished as darkness wrapped around me like a warm blanket, and I faintly heard a cannon fire. MY cannon fire. I let darkness cover me completely, and sank into the pain free empty blackness…


	2. Chapter 2

Chaper Two: There is nothing I do better than revenge

Cato's POV.

Impossible. Clove wasn't dead. The cannon that fired wasn't hers. It was Lover Boy's cannon, it had to be. She was still with me and in a moment she would wake up and we could grab our packs and go back to camp. She promised we would become victors together after the announcement a while ago. She promised me…..and Clove Akinson never broke her promises. Letting out a strangled cry, I began to shake her, as if the movement would make her wake up. "You promised Clove! You promised!" I sobbed, momentarily forgetting I was on live television, and all of Panem could see me like this. Standing up, I tenderly laid Clove on the cold, hard ground, in a puddle of her blood.

"Clove I swear I will- I WILL win for us, and he-he will pay!" I cried out, angry and full of grief. I grabbed Clove's precious jacket, which I would never ever try to do without being ripped apart if she-if she was still alive. Half blinded by tears, I grabbed our packs, and raced off after Thresh, one thing on my mind. Revenge.

…

A few hours later.

Thresh was foolish, weak, a baby in a man's body. Apparently somehow he got injured, maybe one of Clove's knives- Clove. Her name brought back so many memories; I can't even begin to start. How she laughed, the look in her eyes that was like one of a tiger, how she sounded like when she d-._Cato. Get a hold of yourself. She's gone, and now you are going to kill the killer _I thought, shaking my head back and forth as if to remove the thoughts of She-who-must-not-be-named. I began to follow the small, but steady trail made of blood. Soon, I came to a small clearing where Thresh had obviously made a make-shift camp. His back was to me, and he was hauling a large piece of plastic filled with water to a fire. Smirking, I started to creep around to his supplies. _Thresh, you have got to have some rope in here somewhere_ I thought, rummaging through his supplies before finally pulling out a large thick rope._ Perfect_. I smiled, a crazy light in my eyes. Creping around to Thresh, I came up behind him and cracking my sword down on his head. It wouldn't kill him; his skull was much thicker than Cl- her skull.

"Now your death will begin Thresh" I spoke aloud, moving around the victim. Dragging him to the center of the clearing, I began to bind his wrists and feet to the ground, using a few knives as stakes. Stepping back to examine my work, I made a satisfied sigh. Grabbing the water, which was close to boiling, I put it next to me, and began dipping my bloody sword into it. Once it was steaming and clean, I took it out, resting it next to me.

"Wakey-Wakey Threshy!" I whispered into his ear, and then yelled, expecting him to jump up, but to my surprise, he didn't. _I couldn't have killed him, right? No he is just been knocked out, he needs something to wake him up._ I thought, glancing around, before settling on the boilingwater. Smiling viciously, I picked it up with some difficulty before dumping it all onto Thresh's chest. He let out a high pitched scream of pain, and I began to laugh.

"Wow Thresh I never knew you could scream like that, I think that little girl's scream wasn't quite as high pitched as I killed her" I spoke, my voice soft as I picked up a small knife, one of her favorites.

"Well yah know what Cato? You are such a flipping BEEPIN BEEPIN BEEPIN BEEPIN HIPPO BEEPIN BEEPIN MOTHER BEEPIN BEEPIN ICE CREAM BEEPIN BEEPIN SANDWHICH BEEP!" Thresh snarled at me, as I let out a fake, girly gasp of shock.

"Oh Thresh you're a big fat potty mouth, so just shut up and we can get started" I spoke, raising my voice and prancing around him (A/N: Cato has gone temporarily insane, if you haven't noticed). I Picked up the knife and stalked over to Thresh, removing his shirt.

"Ah such a beautiful canvas, now for the painting" I whispered grabbing the knife and dragging it along his stomach. I began to cut his skin, making small, but deep cuts in his dark skin, making little hearts in his flesh, ending up having his torso , face, and arms covered in bloody red hearts. I ignored his frantic attempts to escape, just as I had ignored his wails of pain as I carved the hearts. Discarding the knife, I picked up my still very hot sword and flashed Thresh a wicked smile. The fear in his eyes was like the one of a cornered animal, ready to be slain and turned into a rug or hat.

"Now Thresh, when you killed C-clove, I hope you understood the consequences for killing my best friend" I said, my voice deadly calm, thought my voice cracked a little as I said her name. "And now you will feel the pain that I felt as I watched her die in my arms, how my heart felt" I raised the sword above his arm, above a pint-sized heart, and brought it down, hard. Thresh let out a strangled cry of pain and trashed around some more.

"Oh Thresh that was only a prick, just one mini heart, and I Haven't gotten even close to the pain that I felt when you killed her. When she died!" I spoke softly and moved to the next heart, stabbing down once more. Another cry, another heart. Stab Heart. Thresh cry. Stab heart. Thresh Cry. The routine was simple and was never broken as I continued up both arms. Finally I reached his torso, and smiled again.

"Oh Thresh now here comes the fun part. Except I won't go to deep, or else you would die before your punishment is finished, but you still need to feel the pain that I felt." I picked up the sword and raised it above him. "This. Is. How. I. Felt. When. You. Killed. Her!" my voice still quiet and gentle, stabbing Thresh with each word, but only digging down to the bone, so he would feel the pain I felt. He cried and screamed, and for a very, very small moment, I felt pity for him, before brushing it away.

"Just kill me already you monster!" cried Thresh, his torso a bloody mess as tears poured down his blood streaked face.

"Fine I will" I sighed, raising the bloody, steaming sword above his actual heart. "This is for Clove!" I cried slamming the steaming tip into Thresh's heart. He twitched once and fell still, his eyes empty and lifeless. Mere moments later his cannon fired. I simply picked up my sword, grabbed some supplies, and stalked off, ready to find my next victim.

The Girl On Fire.

…..

Seneca's Crane POV.

"Sir!Seneca Crane! Sir! Come to the health department immediately!"The voice cracked over the intercom. Standing up in confusion, I ran to the elevator and jammed the bottom to the health department. On the way down, I calmed myself, reassuring that Marlene had probably blown something up for the 100th time now, and finally has had permanent brain damage. Of course. That's all it is, and Draco was just over-reacting. Stepping out onto the busy hall, I ran smack dab into the person I thought was going to be blown up. Marlene. Her white-blonde curly hair was sticking out crazily, and her greey bubble dress was missing a few…bubbles.

"Marlene what happened?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

"Oh um I had the cannon become fired too early….I just don't know what went wrong!" she cried, her pale yellow eyes-lopsided as always, were filled with worry.

"What do you mean to early!" I screeched, fearing the worst.

"Coming through!" called out a Healer, wheeling a stretcher. On it was the last person I every expected. Her beautiful features were bloody, but I could still spot the oh so familiar freckles that dotted her face, and the dark brown hair. It was the girl who had scored the 10 in training with her knives.

Clove Sanders of District 2.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 3-Girl on Fire is sooo old….let's meet the Girl with the Iron Skull

**Author's note**

**I am utterly touched for my reviews and all who added this to their fav. Stories/story alert. My first Hunger Games Fanfic, and my 2****nd**** fanfic overall….I am so happy!**

**Love y'all! (Marlene is Derpy/Ditzy Doo from MLP:FIM)**

**Disclaimer-If I was Suzanne Collins, don't you think I would have better things to do than sit at the computer on a fanfiction site?**

**I'm sooo sorry for not updating sooner, swim team finals just happened.**

….

Clove's POV

I awoke staring at flames. _Of Course_, I thought, my head pounding. I wasn't surprised I was in hell, I killed countless people in the Hunger Games, and enjoy killing. Hearing a-a door open(I didn't think they would have doors here, being all torturous and stuff),I shut my eyes quickly, to see if my eternal punishment could be decreased momentarily. Instead, I heard a cold, slightly familiar voice, that for some reason, I thought I should know.

"Yes 21 mutts. No, only the Cornucopia. Okay, bye" I heard a cellphone being snapped shut, and a loud sigh filled wherever I was. Nothing made sense. I knew I had died, and that I was _supposed_ to be in hell, but all this talk about mutts and the Cornucopia made me thing I was still in the- no it was impossible. I had died for God's sake. Still, I needed to know where I was and what was happening.

Rolling over, I let out a very large, fake yawn and opened my dark brown eyes, blinking as I stared at…..Seneca Crane. I leapt up- well at least tried to, before finding I was strapped to a clean white hospital bed. Growling at him, I managed to sit up and take a look at my surroundings. The room was stark white, with a few unnaturally cheery signs like, "Get well soon!" and "You're not dead-yet! " That seemed out of place. A fireplace crackled to the side of me, and there was no other furniture, beside from my bed and tons of machines surrounding me.

Seneca Crane let out a small chuckle, before walking over to where I was. "I see your alive and up Ms. Sanders" he said, looking at my face for some sort of reaction.

"What-how- why-died- WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" I screeched, my thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and anger. I had no idea how I was somehow alive, or why I was out of the arena…and why did my head feel strange. "What happened!" I hissed at him.

Seneca Crane walked around me slowly, noting everything, before he turned to look directly at me. "Well you see, Ms. Sanders, when Marlene ordered your cannon to be fired, you weren't dead-yet. We have rushed to repair your skull Clove, but we needed some help unless you would die" his expression changed as he said Marlene, and anger lit in his eyes, vanishing as quickly as it came. "You see well, ahem-your skull is covered completely in strong iron" he backed up slightly- as if I was going to explode.

_My skull-covered in iron? I'm alive? But why am I?_ Shaking my head, I refused to believe it. "If I was brought back to life, why wasn't Marvel? Or leech-um Glimmer? Even those pathetic bloodbath tributes, why weren't they brought back to life? What the hell are you going to do to me?" I asked, angry an upset.

"Um-well you see Miss Sanders, you were still alive and um-"leaning into my ear, he whispered "President Snow and I want you-no need you to kill Katniss Everdeen, she is a huge annoyance." He stood back, a sly smile spreading over his face.

I cackled in delight, looking at him eagerly. "Of course I will, when can I go?" I asked excitedly trying to free myself from the bed.

"Good to see you're up for it, but you need to recover for a bit Ms. Sanders, you practically _died, _and you're going to have to get used to having an iron skull-and adjusting to it" he said, backing out of the room. "Until next time Ms. Sanders, good-bye"

I was left alone with an odd grin on my face before I was injected with some fluid and sank into unconsciousness….

(However much time between the Feast and Foxface's death)

Talk. Eat. Sleep. Learning how to adjust with a fortified skull was anything but normal, but as the days wore on, the constant, easy exercises that were my only freedom , soon became boring and dull. I longed to go back into the games, and to handle my precious knives again. "When will I get to go back in?" I whined, looking at my caretaker-type person, Nurse Red Heart, ridiculously covered in well-red hearts.

"Right now dearie, in fact I just came to bring you to the hovercraft to the arena! Isn't that fun!" she giggled, unstrapping me from my prison-ahem my bed. I leapt up, a crazy light in my eyes as I practically skipped to where the hovercraft was hanging as I eagerly climbed in. Another tracker was inserted into my arm, and we took off.

Now the games really begin.

**Sorry I know this chapter is short, I'll try to make the next one longer.**

**Review or Clove will kill you as you sleep!**


	4. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Surprise Surprise

**First off, I want to thank all the lovely people who reviewed or added me to their story favorite and all that stuff, you all are way to kind. **

**Thank you especially Peetalover240, you reminded me to actually get on here and write this story, it would be longer without you.**

**I am soooo soooo sorry for not updating sooner, I have been on a vacation, and then school started, and sports and homework took up my time. Another thing is that I will be updated a lot quicker, as I am switching to my laptop and will actually be able to get onto the computer, all of my viewing of this site has been via itouch.**

**The cornicorpia is based off the one in the movie, where Cato is already on top yada yada. I was planning on doing the book one, but this one made more sense.**

**Clove has her same arena outfit on, and please review!**

**Review **

Clove's POV

Being back into the Hunger Games was sooo boring. I saw no sign of other tributes, and was basically just walking around blindly, the single knife Seneca Crane was kind enough to give to me in my hand. Sure, it was very small, and the handle was pathetic, but it was still a knife. It was my only companion through my torture, it was definitely not Cato, but It was ten times better then Glimmer. Thank God she had died, I praise the blessed tracker jackers who maimed her beautiful face. My thoughts of hate towards Glimmer distracted me for 10 seconds, before I grew bored again Finally though, after countless hours, which was really only about 57 minutes, I heard a cannon fire. _Now who could that be? It can't be the Love-birds, and not Cato…so it must be that Girl from 5_, I mused, thinking back to earlier. I briefly remembered her from training, and that she was very sly, creeping around like she had stolen a candy bar. Distracted, I tripped over something on the ground. Letting out a groan, I turned to see what root I had tripped on, ready to end its horrible life of a root. What I saw was anything but a root, and it was already dead. It was a human body. Letting out a faint gasp of surprise, I backed up quickly. Standing up, I saw no visible marks of scuffle, until I noticed her mouth was stained with berry juice. Finding her hand, I flipped it over. A handful of dark berries were in her hand, looking so much like a blueberry. Immediately, I stood up and ran, faster and faster, away from my memory. But finally, as I sank to my knees, it caught up with me.

_My parents and I sat around the television, hushed and nervous. My sister, Evelyn, had made it to the Final 5. But now, away from her allies and her supplies nearly gone, she was running out of time. She was delirious from Hunger, and the dense forest had little to offer her._

"_What's wrong with Evlie mama?" asked my little brother, only 5 at the time, and using my sister's nickname. Braden, so sweet and young, was not yet training, and not understand the Hunger Games. Now he watched my sister, stubble around, a lazy look in her eyes as she pulled random leaves of branches in a vain attempt to get some food. Then, she spotted them. A bush of ripe, dark blue-black berries. _

_ She's gonna make it now Braden, she's gonna make it!" I cried out, hugging my little brother. Evelyn crammed then berries into her mouth. At first, she was filled with pure bliss, and then fell to her knees. Letting out a cry, I saw my sister collapse onto the forest floor, and a few moments later, a cannon fired. We sat in pure shock, staring at the TV screen. I was the first to break the silence. "No!" I cried out, tears forming in my eyes. I ran, away from the television, away from my home, away from my dead sister. I sat down in my clubhouse I had made with Cato, rocking myself back and forth as tears streamed down my small face. I don't know how long I had lied there, when I felt Cato wrap his arms around me."Shh_, _it's okay Clove, It's okay." _

_ "No it's not Cato! She's gone she-she-she's dead!" I cried out. "And now that she is gone, what will I do? She was helping me train! And-and-and" I broke back down into tears. In my pain, I hadn't noticed the tears that streamed down Cato's face as well. "We will be strong together. We will be strong for Evelyn!" He whispered into my ear, his presence like a blanket. We sat there, that faithful night, comforting each other…._

Oh how I wished Cato was with me now, as I sat in the woods, my heart pounding, the memories filling my brain. I just wished that he would come up behind me and squash me in a big hug. I never realized how much I had depended on my best friend to be here, and now that he is gone-I just miss him so much. A tear rolled down my cheek, but I pulled up my jacket, over my head, to hide the tears that streamed down my face. I sat there as I cried silently, not giving the people of District 2 to see my tears. I know that when I get out of this-if I get out of this, all of my former trainers and competitors will beat me up about it. Me, the Girl who was the top in her class, crying on national television. I will not be seemed as a weakling in this Hunger Games, not now, not ever. Standing up with new determination in my eyes, I started walking in the General direction of the cornucopia, knowing that Cato had set up his camp there. No, I did not have magical mind reading powers or able to see into the future, but I had a wonderful thing called technology, which wasn't as cool, but very helpful. I hadn't scene Thresh's death, Seneca-the stupid moron, said it would be too stressful for me to watch something as gory as it was apparently. Maybe he didn't like to see Cato destroy him, but I can't wait to see it WHEN I WIN.

A couple hours later, I had formed my plan to win. I let the bloodlust, sort of insane part of me take over as night fell, and started to hunt around, slaying ever bush and root that even glanced in my direction. Soon I approached the edge of the clearing, the cornucopia in my sight, almost a mile away. I began my slow walk towards it. That is at least until I heard the howls. A couple yards away from me, a huge, golden ugly mutt erupted from the undergrowth, foam forming at its mouth. That was almost as disgusting at the mystery meat that was served at the cafeteria, supposed to "make us feel like we were in the hunger games and this is the only food available" type of slop. It eyes though, the eyes were way too familiar. Eyes that I had wanted to gouge out of this person's head while they were sleeping. They were the eyes of Glimmer. I almost wanted to kill it, but decided to stay away from the foaming mouth and all of its disgustingness. Though it could of loved fashion and painting its claws with sparkles just as much as Glimmer did, but I didn't want to find out. Backing away into the undergrowth, I remembered what I had heard when I first came back to life. It was one of the 21 cloned mutts, and the only thing they couldn't climb is the cornucopia. True, there was probably a Clove-mutt out there somewhere, something I did not want to see. Staring into my own eyes in a bloodthirsty monster? Oh wait, that was me. Let me rephrase that: imagine meeting the worst criminal alive, and having the exact same eyes of them, down to the very last detail. Creepy right?

I ran, faster and faster towards the cornucopia, where a huge mass of mutts of gathered. And there, among the mass of mutts, there was a girl, climbing up it. Grinning, I ran until I was at a full sprint. I couldn't wait to get my hands on little Katniss Everdeeen, the great and flawless. That was, all I had to do was to get around the mutts. I crept around until I was facing the side of the cornucopia where the least amount of mutts was gathered. My plan was to sprint, somehow leap other their heads and climb on their muzzles until I reached the top. It didn't exactly go that way. The mutts looked a lot smaller from far away, but as I approached one of the bigger tributes-er mutts, I realized they were as big as me. I raced in a bit of a zig-zag pattern, leaping and jumping over tails and paws. The mutts didn't pick up my scent, but I guess they were programed mostly to attack the remaining tributes. I had made it about half-way through when it happened. Dodging around smaller mutt, I accidently ended up stepping on a tail of the smallest one there. The big brute beside it turned to me, growling angrily and rearing up on its hind legs, towering above me. Letting out a loud scream, I part way moved to the side, but its claws ended up digging into my left shoulder. I let out a low moan as pain shot through the upper part of my body. Ina daze, I noticed the cornucopia only a few inches away from me. Scrabbling up the side, breathing heavily as I thankfully noted that it was only half as hard as the training in District 2. They literally stabbed us with a knife and made up climb up a rock wall. I had done it easily, so this was a piece of cake. Reaching the top I lay there panting heavily, hearing a voice above me. Struggling, I managed to stand up to see me standing right behind Katniss Everdeen. She was saying something but I hardly paid attention to her as I gazed at Cato. His face was covered in blood, but he had the crazed look in his crystal blue eyes that I had missed so much and an easy confident smile on his face. I never realized how much I missed the little things about him until now, and I took a step out of Fire Girls shadow to look at him.

The biggest mistake I could of ever made. Cato let out a screech and yelled "Clove!" almost dropping the Lover Boy and making him escape. That's when Katniss noticed me. She whipped around, an arrow already notched in the bow. Weak, confused, and overjoyed with happiness to see Cato, I never saw it leave the bow.

I just felt it hit me straight in the head.

**Cliffhanger! I just couldn't resist, I'm sorry my dear readers for making you wait now. **

**Review!**


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